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General Lee's Headquarters at Gettysburg, Penna. 



By HENRY S. MOYER, 

ALLENTOWN, PA. 



{All Rights Reserved.) 




HOUSE ALONG THE CHAMBERSBURG PIKE. NEAR GETTYSBURG. PA. 
Said to have been occupied by General Lee during the Battle. July 1-3. 1863 



The fact that all historians and bat- 
tlefield guides who attempted to speak 
or write on this subject, have fallen 
into a common eiror of designating 
the above house as General Lee*s 
Headquarters. So far as the w: /re. 
has been able to learn, whose inves- 
tigations on this subject cover a per- 
iod of over thirty-five years, is that 
this assertion is based solely on a 
local tradition, and its persistent rep- 
etition of misinformed battle-field 
guides and historians. To the best of 
my knowledge and belief, the above 
tradition and assertion IS NOT TRl'i; 



and after years of toil and diligent 
search of ill authentic and available 
sources of information on this subject 
1 was forced to the conclusion, that 
the facts ,ire against this house or 
any other house or houses upon thL 
field designated as General Lfed's 
Headquarters at Gettysburg. 

The most trustworthy information 
on this subject is. what General Lea 
himself said after the war in an in- 
terview with Col. John B. Bachelder, 
the Government Histoiian of the bat 
tie. These are General Lee's own 
words-: 




Section of Col. Bachelder's Isometrical Drawing of the Battlefield of Gettysburg, showing the Apple Orchard (spoken 
of by Gen. Lee) in which his headquarter tents were actually located. 



'' My headquarters were in tents, in an 
apple orchard, back of the Semin- 
ary, along the Chambersburg pike" 

He (Gen. Lee) is corroborated b/ 
his Chief-of-Staff Col. W. H. Taylor, 
who in a recent letter on this subject 
said: 

"The General (Lee) was under canvas 
and did not occupy the house. " 

General Imboden C. S. A., in his 
article "The Confederate Retreat fiom 
Gettysburg, in "Battles and Leaders 
of the Civil War," Vol. Ill, page 420, 
Writes thus: 

About 1 1 p. m.. a horseman 
came to summon me to General 
Lee. 1 promptly mounted and 



accompanied by Lieutenant 
George W. McPhail, an aid on 
my staff, and guided by the 
courier who brought the mes- 
sage, rode about two miles to- 
wards Gettysburg to where A 
HALF A DOZEN TENTS were 
pointed out, a little way from 
the roadside to our left as Gen- 
eral Lee's Heaquarters for the 
night. When we arrived there 
was not even a sentinel AT 
HIS TENT, and no one of his 
staff awake. 

Page 421 Ibid. "He (Gen. 
Lee) invited me INTO HIS 
TENT, and as soon as we were 
seated," etc. 

Page 442 Ibid. "As I was 
about leaving to return to my 
camp, I think at 2 a. m., lie 
(Gen. Lee) CAME OUT OF 
HIS TEXT, to where I ( was 
about to mount, he said in au 
undertone: 'I will place in your 
hands,' " etc. 



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SECTION OF A MAP OF THE GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD 

Founded on Col. Bachelder's Revised Isometrical Drawing and published in Samuel P. Bate's History of Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, 1861-65, Vol. IV, On this map General Lee's headquarter's are correctly located in tents. (We regret 
that this reproduction is somewhat marred by reverse impressions caused by the folding of the original.) 



Granting tjiat the above statements 
of General Lee, Col. Taylor and Gen- 
eral Imboden, are true. Upon what 
historical basis does the Reputed Gen- 
eral Tree's Headquarter House at Get- 
tysburg stand? 

General Lee is dead, so is General 
Imboden, but Col. Taylor, President 
of the Marine Bank of Norfolk. Va.. 
is still with us and endorses the 
above statements as follows: 

It gives me pleasure to in- 
dorse your statements as being 
entirely in accoi dance with the 
facts as I recall them. 1 am 
glad that you have given pub- 
licity tc your views and hope 
the publication will serve to 
correct the misapprehension 
now eristing in the public mind, 
occasioned by erroneous state- 
ments referred to by you." 
Yours truly. 
WALTER H. TAYLOR. 



In addition to what has been said, 
the following is what another officer 
of the Army of Northern Virginia 
writes whicn we are permitted to pub- 
lish: 

Richmond, Y:i 
Nov, 8, 1906. 
Sir Kt. Henry S. Moyer, 
Allen Commandery K. T., 
Alentown, Pa. 

Dear Sir and Brother: — 

Your favor of the 4th receiv- 
ed concerning the Headquarters 
of General Lee at Gettysburg. 
You are at perfect liberty to 
use my letter in refuting the 
long continued and repeated 
error of guides at Gettysburg 
in designating any house as Gen. 
Lee's headquarters. 

Your favor of the 20th ult., 
received and answer deferred 
so I cculd get you exact infor- 
mation in reference to Geenral 
Lee's Headquarters at Gettys- 
burg. 



46% 



The stone house was pointed 
out to me as General Lee's 
Headquarters. Of course, T 
said nothing, but / positively, 
knew, that General Lee never 
had his headquarters in that 
house. 

It was known among all Iiis 
troops that General Lee de- 
clined on all occasions invita- 
tions ol his friends to occupy 
their houses while he was cam- 
paigning. There were only two 
occasions during General Lee's 
command of the Army of North- 
ern Virginia in which he enter- 
ed a house. One just before lie 
succeeded General Joseph E. 
Johnson and took command of 
the Army around Richmond; 
but when he commenced his 
campaign, he left that house 
and REMAINED IN TENTS 
THE WHOLE TIME, with one 
other exception. While at Ham. 
ilton's Crossing, in his head- 
quarter tent. Geseral Lee was 
taken sick and his physician 
and friends compelled him 10 
go into a house in or near Fred- 
ericksburg, Va., until he was 
better. He did this, and soon 
became better, and returned to 
his headquarters. With these 
two exceptions General Lee 
never staid is a house during 
his campaigns and never hadhis 
headquarters in a house at all. 

I am intimate also with Col. 
T. R. Talcott, who was also another 
member of his staff whom I in- 
terviewed the other day. to 
learn if he knew of the Gen- 
eral's GOING INTO A HOUSE 
DURING the entire war, and he 
stated as I have stated above. 

J. THOMPSON BROWN, 

Late Capt. Commanding Park- 
er's Battery, 
Alexander's Battallion, 
Longstreets Corps, A. N. Va. 



What the occupant of the Reputed 
Headquarter House at Gettysburg said 
to the writer shortly after the war. 

The writer had always entertained 
an exalted opinion of General Lee. not 
only as a miltary leader, but as a 
man of moral worth, and it was also 
stated that he was a distant relative 
of George Washington. These asser- 
tions appealed to me strongly, and 1 
longed for an opportunity to behold 
the spot in my native state, where 
this great American General had his 
headquarters. Later the opportunity 
presented itself and the first house 
visited by me was the one historians 
and battlefield-guides dilate upon as 
being General Lee's Headquarters at 
Gettysburg. Imagine my surprise and 
chagrin when the old lady assured nic 
in most positive language : 

"That she had occupied the house 
during the whole of the three days bat- 
tle and that General Lee had never been 
in the house." 

This started my investigation after 
This started my investigation after 
the truth and my conclusions are giv- 
en above, after the lapse of many 
years. It will be observed that the 
old lady of the reputed Headquarter 
House gave me the first intimation of 
the error of Historians and battlefield- 
guides, and best of all, she is corrob- 
orated by Messrs. Lee, Taylor, Imbod- 
en, Tallcott and Brown. More and bet- 
tar evidence on this subject could not 
neasonably be desired. 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



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